Legal

Small business compliance

Following World Consumer Rights Day on 15 March, 2013, The Office of Regulatory Services has launched an online tool to help small business comply with consumer protection law.

As a business owner you are likely to be confronted by retail or commercial leasing if:

1. You are looking to establish your business premises, fit it out and enter into a lease; or
2. You are buying an established business which comes with an established lease as a “going concern” business where you walk in to take over and the seller walks out.

Dealing with contracts is very much a part of small business management. Once in place, contractual requirements largely dictate the way in which small businesses operate. In short, they underpin the viability and security of any business, large or small.

With Twitter growing at a phenomenal rate, Facebook networking larger than life, LinkedIn creating a recruiter’s goldmine and ‘blogging’ not an obscene word but widely understood logging resource, social media is quickly emerging into the communication mainstream. 

Generally a credit arrangement arises in situations where a business provides its customers with goods and services, which are paid for at a later date.  From the business's point of view, this arrangement could improve customer satisfaction and retention and increase its overall competitiveness in the market place.

Two parties decide to enter into a restaurant venture. The venture needs to lease premises and enter into a finance agreement for plant and equipment. Each of the shareholders and their spouses sign personal guarantees. Additionally, one partner, who operated another successful restaurant, agreed to have his other company execute a guarantee to secure the lease and finance agreements of the new venture.

Australia’s small businesses can now access a complete range of free webinars about the Fair Work Act, designed to help them better understand their rights when it comes to employing staff.